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Ask HN: How to Get Started in Genomics?

by Nesco on 3/20/24, 10:25 AM with 6 comments

I am interested in learning moire about biotech and genomics, but I've never worked in anything close to a wet lab. Where should I start?

  • by a_tartaruga on 3/22/24, 7:09 AM

    General overview of biotech industry look at Stat magazine and subscribe if you can afford it. Listen to their weekly "Readout Loud" podcast.

    For actual projects if you live in USA: Seattle, NYC, SF, Baltimore then visit community bio labs there. People are generally friendly and there are easy ways to get involved through either group meetups or classes.

    If you don't it's much harder since DIY bio is still so early. If you are near a local university there might be some opportunities to work with others. Watch Thought Emporium videos to see what is possible with a home lab in principle though probably not in practice unless you are full time and wealthy.

    For background reading - on lab techniques this book is good: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Gene+Cloning+and+DNA+Analysis:+A... - basic body of knowledge of genomics: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/mono/10.1201/97804290217...

  • by lmiller1990 on 3/20/24, 11:03 PM

    I have been looking to do something similar for the last few years. I tried grabbing a few textbooks and learning a bit, but I found it difficult to really make any progress.

    I ended up enrolling in a part time Masters of Bioinformatics. I got an exemption from the basic software courses, since I already do a lot of coding in my day job. The remaining courses are split between:

    - molecular biology theory (obviously need a good foundation here) - wet lab - statistics - bioinformatics (which is learning the different tools, what they do, how to build a pipeline, which is just a lot of bash and python glue) and then how to interpret the results

    I just started so I haven't done the web labs yet, but I am learning a lot with my current courses which molecular biology and bioinformatics. Having classes, assessment, and immersed in an environment with other people learning, along with professors to answer questions, is really good.

    Not sure if this is an option for you. I tried to do this in my free time with books, YouTube, etc, but nothing really clicked.

  • by ninjha01 on 3/21/24, 2:36 PM

    Come join us at Bits in Bio! We have ~6k members and regular in-person meetups in many cities around the world.

    https://www.bitsinbio.org/

  • by nextos on 3/20/24, 2:23 PM

    Skim through Durbin et al. Biological Sequence Analysis.